The worst earthquake to hit Japan for 140 years, with a magnitude of 8.9 and sparking a massive tsunami, is expected to see a death toll of over 1,000 according to the Kyodo news agency.It meant Button's final day of testing at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the new Formula One season effectively paled into insignificance for the 2009 World Champion.
As news of the devastation broke, Button found himself unable to contact girlfriend Jessica Michibata, who was doing a photoshoot in Japan's capital city when it was severely rocked by the quake.
It was only much later on in the day that Button finally learned the 26-year-old Japanese/Argentine was safe.
Asked if he had received news from Michibata before he got into the car, Button replied: "No, no. I couldn't speak to the missus, to Jessie, because the phone lines weren't working in Japan.
"So halfway through the day, the only way I could get in touch with her really was through Twitter. I found out that she was okay.
"She then sent me a text saying 'How's testing going?' It was like 'Honey, that's not really the most important thing at the moment. How are you? How are you feeling?'
"She's fine, very shaken. She was in Tokyo doing a photoshoot in a studio underground so it was pretty horrific. I think the whole of Tokyo was pretty shaken.
"Hopefully she's fast asleep now. I'll see her on Sunday evening or Monday in Australia."
Expressing his sympathies to the Japanese people caught up in the tragedy, Button added: "It (the earthquake) is something they are used to, but still it's the biggest they have ever had.
"It's pretty horrendous, devastating and it's bad for Tokyo, but really bad for Sendai. A tsunami there has wiped out most of it.
"It's horrific footage you'll probably see on TV, so my heart and thoughts go out to all of the people affected.
"Motorsport is one thing, but something like that happening is so much bigger than the problems we have here today."
As for those problems with his McLaren, Button spent a considerable amount of time looking on from the sidelines as an engine had to be changed, further underlining the reliability issues plaguing the team.
The 30-year-old eventually finished 13th of the 14 drivers on show, just over 4.3secs adrift of seven-times Champion Michael Schumacher in a beefed-up Mercedes complete with a raft of updates.
Button has yet to complete a single race distance in the new car, which he admits is far from ideal heading into the season, with the opening Australian Grand Prix a fortnight away.
Asked as to what the team could do, Button said: "The best job we possibly can. I don't know what that will be or the result out of it.
"But no, it hasn't been the best winter. A lot of it is down to mileage, so we haven't had time to really set up the car.
"I'm not going to lie. It's not the best way to go into the season, but there is no point getting negative about it and down at this point.
"We've got to pick ourselves up, be positive, sort the problems out and turn up in Melbourne, hopefully with a much more reliable car."
Convinced McLaren will crack the issues that have blighted testing, he added: "We've got to forget about where we stand at the moment compared to the others.
"We have to get our heads down and move this thing forward because this isn't where McLaren should be, or where McLaren will be for long because there's a great bunch of people here.
"We are all working as hard as we can to hopefully resolve some of the issues and turn up in Melbourne with an even stronger package."
Source: Planet-F1
